From the court to the fireline

After wrapping up his first season as a libero with the Mount Royal University Cougars men’s volleyball team, Matthew Clements has swapped the volleyball court for helicopters, chainsaws, and fire hoses this summer. The 6-foot-tall business student from Grande Prairie isn’t spending his offseason lounging or taking it easy, he’s on the frontlines of wildfire firefighting in Alberta’s north.

For Clements, this physically demanding summer job isn’t a fluke. It’s a family tradition.

“Both of my older brothers did wildfire firefighting,” he explained. “My oldest brother started in 2018, and when I saw what it was like, I knew I absolutely wanted to do it too.”

This past winter, Clements put in the work to follow in their footsteps. With strong references, a local connection to the Grande Prairie District, and a serious dedication to his fitness, he passed a rigorous set of physical tests and earned his spot. He now works on a helitack crew teams that are dispatched by helicopter to respond to new fires the moment they’re detected.

“We’re the first on scene,” he said. “We carry a pump, hose, and tools, and we try to assess the fire and suppress it if we can. If it’s too much for us, we’ll call in air tankers or additional crews.”

This summer, he’s currently stationed out of Fort McMurray, living in an oil camp and working 10–15 hour days during 15-day shifts, with just six days off between them. His work varies between high-adrenaline callouts and routine patrols, flying over designated routes to search for smoke or trouble spots.

“It’s a lot like training camp,” he laughed. “You’re up early, working all day, and it’s intense. But when you’re off shift, you eat, stretch, maybe watch a show, and go to bed. I like keeping busy, and this job definitely does that.”

In his first month on the job, Clements has already been on two fires. The first was a nighttime operation near Grande Prairie, where his crew worked until 3 a.m. cutting down trees that were still burning and digging out hot spots. The second was a structural fire that posed a serious threat of spreading to the forest. His team was called in to support local firefighters and stand ready with pumps and hoses in case the blaze spread.

“It was a really windy, hot day,” he recalled. “We were worried it might escape into the nearby trees, but our pilot helped by bucketing water over the fire, and it didn’t get out of hand.”

The job requires a lot of physical strength, mental sharpness, and the ability to remain calm under pressure, all qualities Clements developed through volleyball. Though his path to MRU wasn’t direct, it was guided by determination and resilience. After growing up as a hockey player in Grande Prairie, Clements switched to volleyball in high school, following in the footsteps of his older brother who played at the college level.

“I fell in love with volleyball,” Clements said. “I played club, did well, and started getting looked at by Team Alberta as a left side. COVID really affected my final club years, so I wasn’t sure what would happen post-secondary.”

He started his college career at Ambrose University in Calgary, playing two seasons as a left side before transitioning to libero in his third year. That change, paired with a standout performance in a scrimmage against MRU, caught the eye of Cougars Head Coach Shawn Sky, who was looking for a more experienced and vocal presence in the backcourt.

Clements made the jump to Canada West this past year, a transition he described as challenging but exciting.

“The biggest differences are size and speed,” he noted. “Guys are bigger and hit harder, but I like the ball used in Canada West more than the one in college, it’s easier to read and pass. It definitely suits me as a libero.”

As the defensive anchor for the Cougars, Clements is looking to grow into a leadership role in his second year with the team. He brings a level of maturity and perspective that’s uncommon, likely shaped by long nights on firelines and the responsibility that comes with keeping wildfires at bay.

Though he’s majoring in business at MRU, Clements isn’t in a rush to put away the helmet and boots just yet.

“People in my program always ask if I’m working at a firm or doing an internship,” he said, laughing. “And I’m like, ‘Nope, I’m out fighting wildfires.’ I’ll probably do this for another summer or two before I shift into business or accounting full-time. Maybe one day I’ll start my own business.”

In a world where most student-athletes spend their summers at golf courses or behind a cash register, Matthew Clements is flying headfirst into danger zones, trading his libero jersey for Nomex and aviation goggles. Whether he’s diving for a dig on the court or descending from a helicopter into a forest blaze, one thing is clear: he’s all in.

And when September rolls around, he’ll return to MRU with new stories, calloused hands, and an edge few others in U SPORTS volleyball can match.